The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
Rabbi Frand noted that Sefer Bamidbar is also called Chumash HaPikidum which easily explains why in English it is referred to as the Book of Numbers.
The first time that Moshe is told to count the Jews in the Parsha, he is told in Bamidbar (1:2) - שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כָּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם בְּמִסְפַּ֣ר שֵׁמ֔וֹת כָּל־זָכָ֖ר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם - that he must take a head count.
R' Frand quoted the Rama M'Pano who interpreted לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם as referring to the concept of Gilgul Neshamos - that Moshe was able to see how many gilgulim a person had lived and how many more his neshama would have to endure.
[R' Frand remarked that undoubtedly everyone in the room where he was giving the shiur in Baltimore had lived multiple gilgulim].
R' Frand then quoted the Chofetz Chaim who used a mashal to explain the pasuk in Tehillim (19:10) מִשְׁפְּטֵֽי־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱמֶ֑ת צָֽדְק֥וּ יַחְדָּֽו. His parable involved the neshama of a wealthy man who was arrogant and treated people terribly. After his death, his neshama made its way to Shamayim, but was instructed that it would have to return to Earth to repent for the horrible treatment of others.
The neshama did not want to leave its closeness to the Heavenly Throne and protested bitterly, but there was no appeal. So the neshama begged to come back as a poor man so that he would not be arrogant again. After much begging, the request was granted and the neshama came back in a poor man and everything he touched "turned to mud." Everyone who observed what occurred to the man could not believe his misfortune. But the Chofetz Chaim explained that this is the meaning of צָֽדְק֥וּ יַחְדָּֽו - that in combining the two lives of the neshama could atone.
R' Frand then quoted the Rama M'Pano in discussing the famous story in the Gemara in Gittin about the children of R' Yishmael Kohain Gadol who had been taken captive and sold as slaves. Their respective owners saw each as beautiful and wanted them to breed, not knowing they were brother and sister. They were placed in a dark room and each stayed in their own corner and did not approach the other. In the morning they realized who they were and they embraced and cried until they both died.
The Rama M'Pano explained that the two siblings were the gilgulim of Amnon and Tamar and the events which took place in that room were their atonement for their prior lives.
R' Frand closed the vort by stating that sometimes events take place which seem tragic to us, but they could be an atonement for the person as a gilgul from a prior lifetime.
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